Notes

Reasons for seasons
Now, I know why we have season's on Earth!
First, round planets heat up when they get direct sunlight and are colder at the poles (top and bottom).
Second, the Earth’s axis is TILTED 23.5 degrees.
Lastly, as Earth revolves around the Sun, the tilt causes different parts of it to get more or less sunlight for a few months, causing the weather and daylight to change.
Winds that affect weather
Winds are named based on where they come from, meaning the name tells us the direction in which they travel.
The directions of the wind tells us what type of weather to expect.
For example, winds from the North bring cooler weather, and winds from the South bring warmer weather.

A global wind is the movement of air across big distances.
These winds flow high in Earth’s atmosphere.
Their patterns are predictable because they don’t change very often.
Global winds are created between the equator and the poles as a result of air moving across the globe to distribute the heat from the Sun more evenly.

As you can see in the figure, the direction of the winds changes with latitude because of the rotation of the Earth.
In the middle latitudes, where the U.S. is located, the prevailing (main) winds move from west to east

Prevailing winds are also known as Prevailing Westerlies, and they affect our weather because they move weather systems from west to east and they determine the movement of fronts.
Fronts help us predict the weather.

Local winds move across smaller distances than global winds and. move closer to the surface of Earth
These winds are less predictable because they react to changes in air pressure.
Local winds also change because of geographical features as mountains, valleys, and bodies of water.

Local winds change when the land meets large bodies of water.
It’s important to understand that water takes a long time to heat and cool, while land heats and cools quickly.
The greater the difference in the rates of heating and cooling between land and water, the stronger the winds (Remember: when warm and cool air masses collide, the wind is created).

A sea breeze is when air flows from the sea to the land.
During the day, the land is heated up faster by the Sun, causing the air over land to become warmer than the air over water.
As a result, warm air rises over the land, and air over water sinks (air is moving from high to low pressure, causing winds)
Sea breezes are why beaches are normally extremely windy!

A land breeze is the reverse of a sea breeze because the wind moves from the land to the sea.
At night, the land cools quicker than water, and the air over the land is now cooler than the air over water.
Remember, cooler air is denser and begins to sink (high pressure) while the warmer air over the water begins to rise (low pressure).

The movement of land and sea breezes forms a circulation model.
This simply means that air moves across the surface and then rises and flows back down again.
This process repeats over and over again like the water cycle.